


Moonchild

by EliLeFey



Category: Severus Snape - Fandom
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-03
Updated: 2015-08-03
Packaged: 2018-04-12 18:18:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4489881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EliLeFey/pseuds/EliLeFey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a tribute to Rory Gallagher, the best guitar player of the rock era.  I wrote him into my story because it's my story, and if I really could go back in time and space, I would go to every Rory G concert I could.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Moonchild

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in the summer after the Goblet of Fire. I;m posting this in a separate section because I'm trying to post the main story in chronological order.

“Severus, Rory Gallagher is dying.”

“What happened?”

“It’s his liver.”

“From the drink?”

“No, well, maybe, mostly it’s those pills he was taking, the poor man was terrified of flying, you know. Muggle medicine can be fatal. His liver is failing, they will try and transplant but it doesn’t work.”

“Are you getting flashes of the sight again?”

“Yes, the older I get the more the sight improves.”

“Were you that close? I know you are a big fan of his, so am I, would you like me to come along?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I? He knows you, we’ve both been watching him play for years, as long as I’ve known you.”

“You had quite a crush on him, I recall.”

Eli turned and looked at him closely. “Oh, is that what this is about?” She blew out her breath. “Yes, I carried a torch for him for a long time. If I hadn’t gotten together with you I don’t know what would have happened. I thought about him when I was of age, since I didn’t think anything would happen with us, he thought of me as a child, Takeshi’s little girl, and he knew what I was and it frightened him, he knew how I felt about him, and he was flattered, but that’s it. Yes, I tried, he turned me down, and you weren’t interested that Beltane.”

“Oh, I was interested, but I didn’t think you were. I didn’t want to ask to go with you because I was afraid there were some boys in Faerie you would prefer, I didn’t think of him. But at least you asked him, you didn’t ask me.”

“I didn’t actually ask him, I read him, because if I’d asked and he said no I would have been too embarrassed to talk to him again.”

“which is exactly how I felt. You weren’t going to invite him to Avalon, were you?”

“No, that would have been a bit much. And I wouldn’t have tried if I’d known how you felt about me.”

“Whose fault was that?”

“Both of us? You know Rory always asked about you when I saw him alone.” She frowned. “The first time I saw him play something hit me. I knew nothing could ever happen between us, he’s a Muggle, and I’m a Faerie, it could never work, you know how hard it is for a Muggle to get along with a witch, imagine how impossible it would be for him to get involved with me. He was always on the road, and I couldn’t take him away from his fans … he would have been welcome in Faerie but he wouldn’t want to go there, and he didn’t have any room in his life for me. I knew that. It was not meant to be. My duty was to you, always you, Severus.”

“Duty? Is that how you feel about me? I’m some sort of obligation? A burden?”

“It isn’t an obligation, it isn’t a burden, it’s an honor, duty is part a form of love.”

“So we’re back to talking about love in its many manifestations, are we?”

“It always seems to get back to that with you Terrans. The problem with falling in love, with romantic love, is that the initial rush is so intoxicating you lose all discernment. That rush fades, then you find out that there was nothing there after all. Sometimes you get lucky and the connection you feel gets stronger. My parents had that, my father was a traveling man, never could have or should have settled down, but he and she knew that he would always come back to her. You never know the outcome when you first fall for the Other. Some people just go for the rush, they move on quickly. Your father was like that. The connection they had faded once the initial rush was over. You’re not like that, you never let go of the love you have for anyone. That’s a rare quality, your mother has that, the problem is you felt your feelings had to be reciprocated, and you can’t demand that, love shouldn’t be quid pro quo. So your love for Lily caused you pain and that made you act crazy. Every tragic hero has a fatal flaw, that was yours. Unrealistic expectations. Your mother just resigned herself to a bad marriage, but she loved you, you know that. She took a lot of the beatings for you.”

“She’s happy now, she got her second chance, she does a great job with the children.”

“You’re getting to be more Fey, you should understand by now that with us, if there is that connection, we have to give the Other what the Other needs. Not wants, needs.” He put his arms around her.

“When I put that ring on your finger I turned over my soul. I didn’t split my soul, I just attached mine to yours. Do you get it now?”

“I’m beginning to. So I basically own you. You can’t leave me. Are we like Nimue and Merlin?”

“No, she used spells to control him, did not have the correct intent to begin with, and like all love spells they rebounded … I had to turn over control of myself to you. This is warrior magic, not love magic.”

“But that is a form of love, what warriors do, sacrifice for others … I think I’m getting it. I never thought I’d be one of the lucky ones. You’re not the one I wanted but you are the one I needed.”

 

 Eli woke up early the next morning and went to the garden to cut some roses to bring with her to King’s hospital. She chose the darkest lavender roses with the most exotic aroma. She wrapped them and some herbs in a sheet of parchment on which she had written a healing sigyl in dragon’s blood ink. She went to the main hall’s fireplace and used flue powder transport to the London flat-, then went to Southwark and entered the hospital lobby.

She spotted Rory’s younger brother waiting for an elevator. “Donal, just a moment … would you bring these to Rory’s room?” she said, and handed him the bouquet.

He handed it back and said, “you bring them yourself, come along. It’s funny how you always just show up with no warning . .. he mentioned you earlier. No one ever seems to know how to contact you directly, just like your father.”

“ We live ’Like Philby.’ How is he?”

“Not good. We’re hoping for the best with a transplant, but he’ll never be able to go on the road again.”

She nodded. “I don’t want to lose him, he got me through some hard times growing up, going to his shows helped me forget what was bothering me. He’s been a part of my life, I guess a lot of us fans feel the same about him, he’s such a beautiful soul, I’ve been blessed to be able to hear him.”

 

The elevator doors opened and she followed Donal to Rory’s room. “Look who’s here, Rory.” Eli looked at Rory. He’d been putting on weight in the past few years, and the liver failure turned his skin a horrid shade of yellow, and he looked like he was in pain. He looked at her and tried to smile. “

"My Moonchild!  Eventually you always show up, Eli.”

“I just can’t stay away from you, Rory.”

The nurse looked up from the paperwork she was filling out. “Look at those roses, I’ve never seen any that color!” She and Donal went to find a vase and get some water.

Eli sat down next to him and picked up his hand. ‘Where are these from?” he asked. “The aroma is intoxicating.”

“Yeah, it covers that hospital smell. They are from my great grandmother’s garden, she developed this rose herself. It’s called … Takeshi.”

He squeezed her hand. “I worry about you, Eli. I know you can’t talk about what you do and where you go, just like him. You’re some kind of soldier, on some kind of secret mission.”

 

Donal and the nurse reentered the room “So how is your family?”

“Mother is fine, but she’s not coming back here. Jeanne-Marie is doing fine, breaking hearts everywhere she goes.”

“And Severus?”

“He’s doing what he should be, he’s teaching now. He sends his best.”

“I thought the two of you were an item.” Her mouth twitched.

“Sort of .. . I’m not the marrying kind anyway.”

“I’d like to talk to him. I ran into his father in Vancouver. We even played together at his place. I brought some tapes, Donal has them. I knew you’d show up, my moonchild.”

 

The nurse brought over a vase with water in it and began to arrange the flowers. She noted that Rory’s color was better and he seemed animated as he talked to Eli. She also sensed that Eli wasn’t exactly normal; there was something off about her the nurse couldn’t place. When Eli handed the nurse a rose, she noticed the mark on the palm, and immediately thought of her Sunday School lessons about stigmata. Nurses see a lot of odd things, a lot of odd people, and this one had seen more than her share during her tenure at King’s. The nurse went to pick up Rory’s medication and signaled to Donal to come with her.

 

Eli was struggling not to cry as she looked into Rory’s eyes. “Look at you, Eli, I watched you grow up, you were just a kid the first time we met.” Eli reached out with her free hand and touched one of his curls.

“When I was a boy in Ballyshannon I learned about the Tuatha De Danann and wanted to believe they were real, until I met your mother and began to think they were. I always knew when you were in the audience, there were times when I saw you but you weren’t there. Gerry said one time he saw you and all of a sudden you disappeared.”

The nurse came back into the room with a tray of medications. “You need your rest, Mr. Gallagher. I’m sure Eli can come back tomorrow to see you.”

He kissed her hand. “WillI see you tomorrow, a chuid den tsaol?”

“Certainly, a run mo chroi.” She bent over him and kissed him on the forehead.

 

Eli left the room, and made it only a few steps from the door before collapsing on a chair and burying her face in her hands, sobbing quietly. Donal sat next to her, reached out and touched her shoulder. She looked at him, pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her eyes. “I didn’t want to cry in front of him. He means so much to me, Donal. He means so much to so many …”

“Let’s hope the transplant works.”

“When was the last time you ate?”

“I don’t remember.”

“I’m not hungry either, but we must eat. I’m taking you out to dinner.”

“There’s a place round the corner where some of the local fans have been gathering at, let’s go there.”

 

A group of people Eli recognized as fans from all over the British Isles were gathered at a large table at the back of the pub. She sat next to a man she’d seen in the London clubs. “We’ve never been introduced,” he said. “I know who you are, you’re Takeshi Morgan’s daughter. What a shame to lose him so early, I remember his band, the first blues band I ever saw, one of the best. I’m ______.”

The waitress came by and Eli ordered lamb stew and told her to bring a selection of desserts, and told Donal to get something. When the food arrived, She and Donal both forced themselves to eat. “I’ve got to get home. He asked me to come back tomorrow, I’ll be by in the afternoon, I hope that’s all right.”

“The nurse was wondering.  Where did you get medical training?”

“When I was in military training we all learn first aid, and my sister is a doctor.”

“Oh, Jeanne-Marie, such a beauty.”

Eli sighed. “Yeah, she’s the pretty one, I know. I’ll tell her what’s happened.”

She got up and left the pub. She strode through the streets of London, to the flat.  It had been the City home of a connected and wealthy Wizarding family that fell on hard times after the Law went into effect, and was cut up into large flats, with its own house elves and landlady, descended from the original inhabitants.  

Eileen had redecorated it during her stay, making it much more of a refuge than it was when Takeshi was there. She liked the combination of Muggle and magical communication devices. She flipped on the television set as the resident cats came to greet her.  Then she went back to the main room and used the mirror to call her mother and sister and told them of Rory’s condition, and asked Older Sister if she could come to London the next afternoon, and to bring flowers.

Emerald promised to relay the information to his fans in Faerie.

 

Eli lay on the bed and went on the astral plane to find Severus. “It’s bad, Severus, he’s ‘circling the drain’ How I wish I was wrong. Older Sister will be stopping by tomorrow, she can diagnose him better than I can, but he was right, the blues is a hard life. He wants to talk to you, he saw your father a while back.”

Severus froze up. He hadn’t thought of his father in years. “Come to the loft, Eli.” He used the floo to get to the loft. Eli flew on the astral plane and then apparated. He walked over to her and put his arms around her. She hugged him tightly, burrowing her face in his shoulder.

“He is so much a part of my history, I’m losing a connection with my father, too. “

“I know”

He picked her up in his arms and flew her over to the bed, where he laid her down gently. He used his wand to change her clothes to a nightgown, and gently tucked the covers around her. He went to the medication shelf and took out a flask, poured a small amount into a chalice and added water from the Klein bottle. He drank half of it and gave her the rest. He took off his clothes and slipped between the sheets and held her. 

He drifted into her mind and waited for her to start dreaming.  He would take her dancing, in the green velvet dress.  She needed an escape.  He needed an escape.  Voldemort was back.  Severus knew the final battle was approaching.  He intended to waste not a single moment of his time with Eli.  He realized he needed her as much as she needed him.  He had lost his first love, he would not lose his true love, now that he finally realized what love meant.  He couldn’t save Lily and he knew only Eli could save him.

He’d figured out that one of the reasons Faerie magic was so much more powerful was because they worked collectively.  They shared knowledge and power, they didn’t hoard it, they didn’t take from each other, they gave what was needed.

 

The next morning they had breakfast in the main house, picked more roses and some herbs.  They used the main hall fireplace to floo to the London flat.  Jeanne-Marie was already there. “Mother will come on the astral plane with us.  Get changed into some Muggle clothes and let’s go.” 

They went to the hospital, where they were met by Donal, who greeted Jeanne-Marie and took the bundle of roses from Eli.  “I should tell you, I’m not licensed to practice here, so I’m here as a friend only,” she said.  They took the flowers to the nurse’s station and told them to share them with the nurses and patients, then went to Rory’s room. 

He smiled when he saw them.  Eli and her sister sat on either side of him, each holding his hand.  Jeanne-Marie frowned at the IV needle.  She glanced at the monitors.  Primitive, at best, she thought. 

“Severus, I spoke to your father the last time I was in Vancouver.  We played together at his place.  He’s got a great house band, he’s doing well.  You know he’s got pictures of you and your mother in his office.  He understands why you don’t want him in your life any more, but he wanted you to hear the new songs, he finished Takeshi’s material from the demos.  It’s good.  Donal will get you the tapes, Eli.  I think you’ll like it.” 

Two doctors had entered the room and were watching the group.  The nurse’s observations had been correct.  Rory looked healthier, his vitals were better, and the change occurred when the group entered the room. They left the room after double checking the machines. 

Rory looked at Eli.  “I wish you could be here with me more.” 

“Do you know what astral projection is?”  Jeanne-Marie asked him. 

“Isn’t that where you can leave your body?  Something like that?” 

“Something like that,” she smiled.  “We can do that.  Would you like us to visit you?” 

“Yes, I would, this seems so strange, so  … airyfairy, but I’ll believe anything you say.”

Eli squeezed his hand.  “You’ve already seen me that way, Rory.  Most people can’t see me but you did.  I’ve been going to your concerts for years, sneaking in, don’t need to buy a ticket … I hope you don’t mind.”

  Rory laughed.  The nurse came in.  “Your parents are here, you can’t have more than three visitors at a time.”  Jeanne-Marie leaned over and kissed his forehead, then Eli did the same, whispering, “I’ll come by tonight.”  He looked at the women as they departed, still not quite believing them. 

 

Donal was waiting for them when they came into the hall.  He handed Eli a shopping bag.  “Here’s the tapes.  I have copies, some of the stuff is really good.” 

The group headed for the pub and sat at the “Rory Table” where Jeanne-Marie’s entrance created a distraction from the palpable air of intense grief.  She had a lot of experience dealing with the fall out of sudden deaths, the pain, disbelief, and sorrow, and had mastered various methods of calming and soothing.  She focused on Donal, understanding that he blamed himself for not insisting his brother get medical help before he collapsed.  She knew he had to talk it out, be heard and allowed to feel the pain, it was best to use certain potions and spells, psychic emetics, to start the healing process. 

She knew Eli was right, the prognosis was clear.  Their clumsy surgical efforts to replace his liver would fail, his body was too weak to fight off any infections.  Terrans had no idea of what they were doing, she thought to herself. 

She wished there was some way to get around the law on this case and treat him herself, but she knew she couldn’t get away with it.  Not all patients can or should be saved, she thought to herself.  She knew the nurse and the young doctor in the room today were on to them, but had no idea of what they were.  There was no need to block their minds or cloud their perception, they would not be able to see their spirits on the astral plane, and she could at least help ease pain from that level. 

“Why don’t you two go back to the flat?  I want to talk to Donal, I’ll be back later.  Make me a copy of the tapes, would you?” 

 

Eli and Severus left the pub and walked back to their flat near Whitehall.  Eli thought it was a pretentious Muggle urban village, but they did know how to keep their aristocratic noses out of their neighbor's business.  The landlady and the residents of the other flats were an eclectic group of eccentrics, the Free House Elves who lived there took excellent care of the building. 

Eli went to the music center and put the first tape in the Muggle reel to reel.  She programmed the recorders to make copies in Faerie, Wizard, and Muggle compatible systems. 

The flat had been the library, and had floor to ceiling shelves, which were filled with an assortment of audio and video machines, from both realms, and a large collection of recorded music.

Severus looked at the albums made by Takeshi’s band.  “Mother and I were not allowed to listen to music.  He didn’t even know she kept the records and pictures.” 

“He was in a lot of pain, you know.  He was wrong, hurting you and your mother, it’s not an excuse, just an explanation.”

He went to the kitchen.  “I’m going to make dinner.”  Growing up in a Muggle house with no elves gave him a lot of life skills most Wizards never developed.  He was ‘like a fish that can swim in any waters,’ and could adapt to his surroundings.  That was how he survived.    

He liked kitchens.  That was his mother’s domain in the house, his father respected that one boundary and didn’t invade that space.  The smells of cooking dishes his mother made for him was comforting.   He heard the music playing.  Donal was right, it was good.  Too good for Muggle commercial success, he thought, but his fans in Faerie would love it. 

 

He heard Jeanne-Marie return.  She went to the kitchen and set the table.  “He’s dying.  He knows it.  No one wants to admit it.”  Severus nodded.  “I know what’s going on with you and the Eaters, Younger Brother.”

“I need to spend time with the children while I still have any to spare,” Severus said. 

“I think that’s a great idea.  Eli’s on special assignment now, we’re training a unit based at the Farm.”

“Doesn’t that violate the Treaty?” 

She laughed.  “Those Ministry clowns never read the fine print.  There are provisions that allow us to use any and all necessary force should any enemy cause a significant risk to any and all magical creatures, if the Ministry should fall or be taken over by hostile forces, as defined in the Acts of War.”  She reached out and touched his face.  “You’re very important to us, you know.  We need your information on the conflict so we can help as much as we can.  We want to at least minimize the casualties.” 

“Failure is not an option, Younger Brother.”  She got up.  “I’m going to drag Eli back here and get her to eat.”  Severus followed her into the main room.  She was curled on her side on the hearthrug, with one of the flat cats  listening to the music.  “Get up and let’s eat,” Jeanne-Marie said.  Eli shook herself and sat up, then followed them back into the kitchen. 

It was decided that Eli would take the graveyard shift, Emerald the day watch, and Jeanne-Marie the swing shift on the astral plane.  They would join together when he was under anesthesia, because that is when the soul is loosely attached to the body, and Rory could join them, in a brief visit to Avalon.  They would make sure the landlady and house elves knew there would be Faerie visitors soon. 

Rory Gallagher was the most popular Terran bard in Avalon since Takeshi died.  They joked Avalon was the only town he never played, and many of them had attended his concerts over the years in various nations.  

Eli had done surveillance of the hospital and figured out the best places to apparate in an emergency.  The ability to apparate from the astral plane was one of her most useful skills, she thought.   She knew she was needed at the Farm and in Avalon, there wasn’t much time left.  She thought to herself, without Rory, there was less reason to stay in this realm.  She would not be sorry when this mission ended and she could go back home.  Terra is a nice place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there, she thought.

 

After dinner, Eli gave Severus and Older Sister a sound cube of the music.  They all used floo powder to go back to the Farm.  Eli and Severus went to the loft, where Eli put the recording on her system.  "Rory gave Tobias publishing rights to the songs they played together, that was nice of him.  I know you don't want to see him ever again, but you can tell in the music how he feels . .. he knows he messed up his life, threw away what was precious."

Severus gave a sardonic laugh.  "I should actually thank the old man for making me so good at being a double agent . . .I learned very early how to hide how I felt, dissemble, equivocate, avoid, and observe inconspicuously.  I will say this for him, after that first day we met, in Diagon Alley, he did reduce the physical attacks, he got out of control only after those nights he drank too much at the pub with his pals.  I know he tried, I guess that's something."

"Yeah, it's more than most will do.  I'd better get a bit of sleep.  I have to take the first shift, we'll be keeping very close tabs on Rory."

"Do you do this for everyone?"

"Yes, those who are our friends, if they wish us to help.  A lot of people prefer to be alone during their dying, some want only those closest to them, it's a choice.  We do this for many Terrans, you know.  You're one of us, you have so many of us to call on if you ever need us for anything, not just me."

Severus  went to the bed and lay down, listening to the music.  He thought back to when he was very young, before things got really bad at home.  He could remember his father smiling, playing with him.   He didn't remember when things got bad.  He knew his family wasn't  the only one like that at Spinner's End.   They called it domestic violence now, and there were programs to help.  He knew Tobias had been hit by his father, it wasn't considered to be a crime then.  He was glad his children lived in Avalon and would never experience the casual and constant brutality of daily life in this realm.

Eli came to the bed wearing a long soft flannel shirtdress.  She curled up next to Severus and put her head on his shoulder, so she could listen to his heart beat.   

 

They fell asleep as the music played. Eli awoke at midnight, and went on the astral plane to King's hospital, hovering next to Rory's bed;  He was asleep, so she hovered in her usual spot, and put her hand over his.  When he awoke at about two, the nurse was in the room, checking the monitors.  Rory looked at her and his eyes widened.  She shook her head, put her finger to her lips while pointing at the nurse with her other hand.  She decided not to u"se her psionic ability to project thoughts into his mind; it would be a bit much for a first contact.  Rory shut his eyes and pretended to be asleep until the nurse left the room   

"She can't see me, don't worry," Eli whispered.  

""You really are some kind of witch, aren't you?"

"Something like that.  Some people call my people the Fey.  Faeries.  My father is like you but, he had certain ... abilities, shall we say, some call magic.  We were run out of here a long time ago, by the Romans and then the Christians, they tried to kill all of us.  So we left, but we kept in touch.  We're what you'd call a subspecies of hominids, closely related to humans, you've heard of Neanderthals, right?  It's like that.  There isn't any fossil evidence because our skeletal remains are so similar to humans no anthropologist has noticed anything."  

Rory reached for her hand, only half surprised when his hand passed through her body.  "So this is what you call 'astral projection' Eli?  You're not really here ... am I hallucinating?"

"What do you think?"

"I want to believe you're here."  

Eli smiled.  "Then I'll stay."   

"I can't touch you?"  

She put her hand over his.  "We are in contact.  Can't you feel anything?"

 

He looked at their hands.  "I feel something ... but you'll have to forgive me, I've been in pain and they put me on a lot of drugs.  I can't feel much of anything right now.  So how does it work?  If it's not too much to explain."

She laughed.  "It is too much to explain!  I don't understand it all myself.  It's my soul, if you will, traveling without my body.  I use it to get around, but there are those who can transcend time and space, travel to other realms, even relive past lives.  I can find people I have a connection with, like you.  Mother and Jeanne-Marie will be checking on you during the day."

"So what's going on with you and Severus?"

"Let's just say I wasn't his first choice...he's working through a lot of issues, I don't want to crowd him, he needs a lot of space.  So do I,  Some of us never should marry."

"Yeah, me too.  Do you think if you hadn't connected with him, something might have happened with us?  When I met you, you were just a girl, just too young.  Then Takeshi died, you went away and you came back so much older, like you'd been 'on the killing floor' ... both of you ... he gave me the message not to try anything with you, in a most gentlemanly way, of course.

"I would have been more than interested to find out if anything could have happened, if things had been different, Rory.  Don't you know that?"

" I have to ask you.   Where are you from?"

"I was born in Avalon, Rory."

 

A nurse came in the room.  Rory closed his eyes, but he never fooled this one.  She could tell at a glance if he was asleep.  "Good evening, Mr Gallagher," she said in a soft voice.  "I'll just give you your medication and some ginger beer."  He opened his eyes and smiled at her.  She helped him sit up and wheeled the supply cart, put a container of pills and a glass of ginger beer on the table right next to Eli, without noticing her. Rory took the pills, and the nurse checked his IV line and fluid levels, checked the monitors, and wrote on his chart. Finally the nurse left the room, saying, "I'll be back to check on you, try and get some sleep, dear."  

Eli lay her astral body on the bed next to Rory.  "You heard the nurse, you need to sleep.  I can enter your dreams, if you give me permission."

"I would like nothing better," he whispered.  "Please"

She sang a lullaby in the ancient language, he didn't know the words but he knew the song, somehow, like an echo from a past life, he had heard her sing this song to him before, he thought, as he drifted into sleep.

 

They dreamed of Avalon, where they had met before, long ago.

 

   

 

 

 

 


End file.
